Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2009 Archive

In this issue:
- Remembrance Day 2009
- Twice Enslaved, Twice Freed -- © Stephen Davidson
- "Thanksgiving: The Sun": A Native Loyalist's View
- Silas Raymond (1748 - 1824) - Fifth Generation in America: Part X - © 2009 George McNeillie
- Beyond the Mountains 2010 - Tour to See The Mountains On Your Way: Register Today
- The QAHN Heritage Essay Contest Winners, 2009
- American Revolution in an Amsterdam Cesspit
- New Addresses for London and Regina Branch Web Sites
- Last Post
      + Clifford Hart
      + Norman K. Crowder
- Queries
      + Response re Words to "A Canadian School Song"

Remembrance Day 2009

Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace.

Formal records tell us about the size and strength of armies, military strategy, and the outcome of battles. Such information is vital, yet to fully appreciate military history we must try to understand the human face of war. Loss of comrades, extreme living conditions, intense training, fear, as well as mental, spiritual and physical hardship helps illuminate what the individual sailor, soldier and airman experienced in battle.

We as Loyalist descendants, or with an interest in the Loyalist story, are helping to recreate and make public the memory of those who joined the Royal Standard during the American Revolution. Many of those who survived moved to what is now Canada, and were major contributors in the shaping of our country.

Many branches of UELAC participate in the Remembrance Day celebrations; from Chuck Ross one such exammple:

Kawartha Branch is taking part and laying a wreath at the Peterborough Cenotaph, Remembrance Day, November 11, 2009.

There will be a Colour Party of two flag bearers and President Wimpy Borland. This is the first time that Kawartha Branch will have attended the Rememberance Day Services, in honour of our ancestors who fought and died for the British during the American Revolution of 1775 -1784. It was at the end of the war that the Loyalists, being loyal to the Crown migrated to Quebec, Upper Canada which later became Ontario.

Twice Enslaved, Twice Freed -- © Stephen Davidson

Lydia Jackson was the most vulnerable of all loyalist refugees when she lost the freedom that had been granted to her by the British government. Not only was she female and black, she was also illiterate and pregnant --and had been abandoned by her husband.

Jackson's early history is obscure. The fact that she was part of a loyalist settlement in Nova Scotia in the late 1780s indicates that she was one of the 3,000 Africans who had earned their freedom by serving the British army during the Revolution. The Nisbet was the only loyalist evacuation ship to have among its black passengers both a Lydia and a Mr. Jackson. It may be that Paul Jackson became Lydia's husband after the two refugees arrived at Port Mattoon, Nova Scotia. If this is the correct Lydia, then she had served the British for seven years after fleeing her master in South Carolina.

Both black and white settlers from Port Mattoon later relocated to Guysborough, a coastal community to the northeast of Halifax. We know the details of Lydia's story from this point on because it was recorded in the journal of Lt. John Clarkson. He was a British abolitionist who came to Nova Scotia to oversee the transportation of black loyalists to Sierra Leone.

By 1788, Lydia's husband had abandoned her in the early months of her first pregnancy. A white loyalist named Henry Hedley wanted a "companion" for his wife, and invited Mrs. Jackson to live with his family. But after she had been with the Hedleys a mere week, Jackson was told to either pay for her accommodations or become an indentured servant for seven years.

Despite her desperate situation, Jackson refused to become Hedley's servant. After much discussion, she finally signed an agreement to serve the loyalist for a year, no doubt thinking this arrangement would secure a safe haven for her during her pregnancy. But on Hedley's instruction, the local lawyer put 39 years into the indenture rather than just one. Jackson put her mark on the contract, unaware of how she had been tricked.

Just 24 hours after agreeing to serve the loyalist family, Jackson then discovered that Hedley had sold her indenture for £20 to a doctor down the coast in the German settlement of Lunenburg. In 1783, she had trusted the British government and had come to Nova Scotia on a ship to begin a life of freedom; in 1788, Jackson trusted a fellow loyalist and boarded a schooner that took her back into slavery.

Lunenburg had been established as a loyal Protestant settlement along Nova Scotia's Atlantic Coast in the years before the expulsion of the Acadians. At the end of the American Revolution, German loyalists increased the town's population. One of these was Johann Daniel Bollman, a native of Magdeburg, who had gone to America to serve as a surgeon in the British army. In 1782, he found time to woo and marry the widow Jane Knaut before settling in Lunenburg.

When Jackson met the Bollmans at the Lunenburg wharf, she was told that her indenture was for 39 years. The loyalist doctor and his wife did all that they could to try to break Jackson's spirit. They regularly beat her with tongs, rope and sticks, hitting her face and head. Despite her "delicate condition", Jackson was knocked down and kicked. She may have miscarried following one such assault; Jackson did not have a child with her when she met Lt. Clarkson three years later.

Jackson sought out an attorney in Lunenburg named Lambert and brought charges against Dr. Bollman. After her case was dismissed, Bollman threatened to have Jackson sold to a West Indian plantation. As the loyalist doctor mused on the fate of the black woman, he put her to work on a farm that he owned outside of town. It was just the opportunity for which Lydia Jackson had been waiting.

Far from the eyes of townsfolk, she was able to slip away from the farm and run off into the forest. She had a plan. She would go to Halifax and seek justice there. A journey that today is an hour-and-a-half car ride took Jackson many days of walking during which she experienced "innumerable hardships".

Jackson found someone to write up a memorial for her in Halifax and had it presented to the governor. He ignored her -- as did the chief justice. But Jackson was not one to give up easily. Eventually she sought out Lt. Clarkson who had only arrived in the city that fall.

The English abolitionist tried to work through the legal channels of the day. He wrote to Dr. Bollman in Lunenburg. He sought out a lawyer in Halifax, suggesting that Bollman compensate Jackson for the wages she would have earned as a free woman in his employ. Time, however, was running out. Clarkson hoped to have 15 ships sailing to Sierra Leone by December. It was impossible for Jackson's case to ever be resolved before January of 1792, so Clarkson advised her to abandon her lawsuit and join those who were sailing to west Africa.

It may seem that Lydia Jackson never received justice. She certainly was not compensated for all that she suffered at the hands of the white loyalists in Guysborough and Lunenburg. However, if she had stayed in Guysborough, she probably would never have joined the 1,200 free Africans who sailed for Sierra Leone. Clarkson had only been able to contact black loyalist communities along the St. John River, in Digby, in Shelburne, and in East Preston. Local resistance to the emigration of black loyalists and the restrictions on Clarkson's time in Nova Scotia prevented him from visiting the Africans who had settled in Guysborough. They did not know about the fleet to Africa until it had sailed away. And among the passengers who bid farewell to Nova Scotia was the very determined Lydia Jackson who escaped slavery --not once-- but twice in her lifetime.

To secure permission to reprint this article, contact the author at {stephendavids AT gmail DOT com} how do I email him?

"Thanksgiving: The Sun": A Native Loyalist's View

"The Sun

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun.

Now our minds are one."

Our Brother the Sun, brings warmth, light and life. In an area as vast as Canada, various parts of the country experience longer or shorter daylight and to be sure, our ancestors' daily rhythms of life were dictated by the Sun. Like the Four Winds, today we look to harness the energy of the Sun and depend on it for the vitality of crops and the emotional balm of its brilliance. Missed when its light is obscured by winter clouds, we celebrate its return when our seasons change. We owe our lives to the regularity of the daily rising of the sun in the east and marvel at its beauty as it sets in the west.

...David Kanowakeron Hill Morrison UE

[See also the full Thanksgiving Address. -- ed.]

Silas Raymond (1748 - 1824) - Fifth Generation in America: Part X - © 2009 George McNeillie

[Part 1, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX]

I shall interrupt the story of the settlement of the Loyalists in Kingston to speak of their losses through pillage, confiscation, and the conflagration at Norwalk. The source of our information here will be the testimony furnished by Silas Raymond and a few of his neighbours before the Commissioners appointed to receive evidence respecting the Loyalist claims for compensation for their losses during the Revolution. The evidence of Silas Raymond was taken before Col. Thomas Dundas at St. John, N.B. on February 1st, 1787:-

"Claimant Silas Raymond says that he sailed from Staten Island in April, 1783, and arrived at St. John the month following. He went up the River Saint John to Kingston a few days after. He drew his land in Kingston in October, 1783, and got his grant from Halifax the summer following. He is a native of Connecticut. In 1775 he resided in Norwalk. He was a house carpenter and joiner. He at no time took any part with the rebels; never signed an Association or took any oath to them. In November, 1776, he joined the British forces on Long Island. He sometimes acted with the Refugees on Lloyd's Neck. He owned a house, barn, and twenty acres of land in the town of Norwalk. It was left to him by his father, Samuel Raymond, who died in 1763. all his papers, with his house, were consumed in the fire in July, 1779. [see Silas Raymond - third excerpt].

"His wife was allowed to live in the house after he fled to Long Island (in 1776), but came away when General Tryon was there. He valued his land at 15 pounds per acre, Connecticut money, and the house at 200 pounds.

"He also abandoned 18 acres of woodland in the Great Pasture which he could have sold for five pounds per acre before the war. He also owned 7 acres of plough-land at West Rolton in Norwalk which he values at 10 pounds per acre, and 4 ½ acres of woodland and meadow in the Great Swamp, 1 ½ acres on Judas Island (salt meadow, valued at 7 pounds per acre). He also lost besides his dwelling, his farming utensils, carpenter's tools, furniture, clothing, 4 cows and 3 hogs."

Israel Hoyt being called on as a witness testifies that Silas Raymond:- "From the beginning of the Revolutionary troubles showed every inclination in his power to support the British Government. He (Silas Raymond) was arrested in 1776 for refusing to fight against the King, and paid 100 dollars fine. His house is fairly valued at 200 pounds. The house was well filled with furniture, but his mother entitled to a third of the moveables. They lived together in the same house and she continues to live with him. It was the custom to give the widow the thirds in Connecticut."

It appears from his testimony that Israel Hoyt was himself apprehended by the rebels in June, 1777. "He was carried before a committee, insulted by a mob and imprisoned in order to be tried for his life. He broke gaol and made his escape to New York. After he had broken gaol his enemies went and seized what they could get at. His household furniture and tools, left at the house of his wife's mother, the widow Mary Raymond, were burnt at the fire at Norwalk."

By the 5th of the "Preliminary Articles of Peace," drawn up in 1782, it was agreed that the American Congress should earnestly recommend to the several States to provide for the restitution of the confiscated property of the Loyalists. Congress did indeed make the requisition, but not one of the States complied with the recommendation.

Excerpt from Book of Family History written by The Ven. William Odber Raymond, LL.D, FRSC. © 2009 George McNeillie - all rights reserved [published here with permission; see footnote]

...George McNeillie {ggm3rd AT sympatico DOT ca} how do I email him?

Beyond the Mountains 2010 - Tour to See The Mountains On Your Way: Register Today

For the first time in years, the UELAC annual conference will be held in beautiful British Columbia, the land of rivers and mountains brought into Confederation thanks to the explorations of men such as Simon Fraser, UE and Alexander Mackenzie, UE. Conference organizers have put together a special treat to allow you to follow in the path of these great explorers. We're planning a trip through the Rocky Mountains with West Trek Tours!

It's a one-way trip leaving June 1st from Calgary and heading west. This adventure includes two overnight stops, with visits to a variety of spectacular locations en route to your arrival at, yep, you guessed it, next year's annual conference, Beyond the Mountains 2010, in the scenic Okanagan valley city of Vernon, known for its ranching, agriculture and overall hospitality.

Tour highlights range from Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper, Moraine Lake, Bow Lake, Peyto Lake, Athabasca Falls, the Columbia Icefields, Mount Robson (the tallest peak in the B.C. Rockies) the Othello Tunnels, Lake Minnewanka, Dawson Falls, and Helmken Falls.

This is a great opportunity to visit the Rockies at a very affordable price (about $400 all inclusive) and, a great idea for a Christmas gift.

To make this trip viable, we need a minimum of 15 people to register. If you are thinking of including this add-on to your trip, register now by contacting {wendycosby AT shaw DOT ca}. How do I email her?

...Beyond the Mountains 2010 Organizing Committee

The QAHN Heritage Essay Contest Winners, 2009

The Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network's annual Heritage Essay Contest yielded over thirty entries from half a dozen schools across the province. Essays were judged by the committee in terms of writing style (competence with the English language), the choice of subject matter (how well it dealt with heritage, notably Anglophone heritage), flair (whether it caught the reader's attention through unusual turns of phrase or rhetorical devices) and overall effort (if the writer added images or showed evidence of having done additional research). Good essays do not require all of these elements, of course, but the best ones tended to succeed on several levels.

After due consideration the committee awarded the prizes.

At our Sir John Johnson Centennial meeting on Sunday, we had the honour of welcoming the student who had placed second in the QAHN Contest. Our Education chair, Louise Hall, introduced Maryha Gerty and read her essay "Walking Through the United Empire Loyalist Cemetery" to the members and friends. Our guest speaker, author Mark Jodoin, presented Maryha with a copy of "Shadow Soldiers".

WALKING THROUGH THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST CEMETERY

By Maryha Gerty, Grade 6, age 11, Heroes Memorial School, Cowansville, QC

The cold spring air touched my face gently, making my hair blow in my face as I walked through the cemetery. I noticed tombstones with faint writing. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a faded little flag with the colours of red and blue. I turned my eyes and read "John Ruiter." A few minutes later when the wind died down, I pushed my hair out of my face as an older woman came and stood beside me.

I whispered in a light voice, "What's all this about? Why is there a flag on the tombstone?"

She turned her head to face mine, and then sighed while looking at the tombstone. "The flag represents people who were loyal to Britain and who had to leave the United States once it became independent in 1776. It's sad that people today don't recognize what these thing mean."

She then told me that John Ruiter's father, Jacob Ruiter, was the first settler in Cowansville. He gave a piece of land in1811 for the building of the first school, and later he gave another lot for the Union Cemetery. She also told me that he made a flourmill and sawmill that was used for years. The settlement was first known as Ruiter's Mills and then in 1805, Jacob named this new settlement Nelsonville, in honour of the British Admiral Lord Nelson who died in the battle of Trafalgar.

I was amazed at what she knew and then understood her sorrow. What a sad thing not to know our history.

John Ruiter's monument is in the cemetery beside Emmanuel United Church where our meeting was held.

...Adelaide Lanktree UE

American Revolution in an Amsterdam Cesspit

In 2008 a British propaganda token dating from the American Revolutionary War (1776-1783) was uncovered in a cesspit at the Oydezijds Armsteeg in Amsterdam (Netherlands). This token, with Dutch inscription, commemorates a British victory over the American revolutionaries on Rhode Island in 1778. The token's purpose was to discourage the Dutch from interfering in the Anglo-American conflict. It was made in 1779, but lost its effect later that year when the British lost Rhode Island to the Americans. Eventually, around 1800, the token ended up ingloriously in a cesspit.

The token and description are on display at the Amsterdam Archives. For more description and pictures, see American Revolution in an Amsterdam cesspit.

...Doug Grant

New Addresses for London and Regina Branch Web Sites

Both Regina and London and Western Ontario Branches have recently moved their web sites. Should you have them bookmarked or otherwise stored, please update the links accordingly.

- Regina Branch: http://www.uelac.org/reginabranchue

- London and Western Ontario Branch: http://www.uelac.org/londonuel/

If your branch has significant changes in content or address, let us know as we can pass it along to out larger audience.

Last Post: Clifford Hart

HART, Clifford (B.A., B.Ed., M.Ed.) - Mr. Clifford Hart at the Cornwall Community Hospital - McConnell Site on Friday October 23, 2009 at the age of 93 years. Clifford began his teaching career in the one room SS #19, Cornwall Township in 1939. He taught at, and was also Principal of Avonmore Public School, North Stormont District High School, Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School and retired in 1981 from Seaway District high School in Iroquois after a 42 year career in education. He held many offices in educational organizations, some of which included: President of the Stormont Elementary Teachers Institute, President of the Ontario Science Teachers Association, and President of the St. Lawrence Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa. He had also served on the Senate of the Ontario Educational Association. Over the years Clifford was actively involved in various organizations. He was a member of the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, the S.D. & G. Shrine club, Avonmore Lodge No. 452, the Kiwanis Club, and the Order of the Eastern Star (Morrisburg Chapter). He also held the office of President of the Eastern Ontario Headmasters Council and President of the S.D. & G. United Empire Loyalists.

He was the beloved husband of 66 years to Evelyn (Werley) Hart. Loving father of Judith (Judy) Hart (Graham Beattie); Sylvia Grant (Glen), Connie Hart (Dave Bedard), and Richard Hart (Lorraine). Sadly missed by 7 grandchildren - the late Jason Lapierre, Josie Bellemare (Marc), Tessa and Megan Grant, Amanda and Chelsea MacDonald, and Alexandra Hart; as well as 1 great-grandchild Brooke Bellemare. Dear son of the late Charles and Rosa (MacIntosh) Hart. Predeceased by one infant son Roger; and his siblings Denzil and John Hart, Louella James, Beatrice Hollister, and Mae Froats.

Resting at the Wilson Funeral Home 822 Pitt Street, Cornwall where visitation will be held on Tuesday October 27th from 2-4 & 7-9 PM, and Wednesday 10-10:45 AM. Funeral service will be held in the chapel of the Wilson Funeral Home on Wednesday October 28, 2009 at 11:00 AM. Interment to follow in Memorial Hill Cemetery, Lunenburg. If so desired contributions in his memory made to the Canadian Diabetes Association would be appreciated by the family.

[submitted by Lynne Cook UE]

Last Post: Norman K. Crowder

CROWDER, Norman K. BA, MA, MBA, United Empire Loyalist Captain (retired) Canadian Army Ordnance Corp-Korean War Veteran Federal Government - Treasury Board

Peacefully at St. Vincent Hospital, after a lengthy illness, on Thursday, October 22, 2009, aged 83 years. Beloved husband of Ruth (nee Haberl) and dear father of Pat Hall (Des), Doug (Gail Snider), Marilyn Hingorani (Suresh) and Bob (Debbie). Loving grandfather of Rob (Cara), Suzanne (Sebastian), John (Sara), Brian, Robin, Michael, Asha, Lisa, Vinay and Gina.Great-grandfather of Emily, Danny, Logan, Owen and Reese. Predeceased by his parents Joseph and Grace Crowder of Renfrew and by brothers Arnold, Dalton, Allan and sisters Phyllis and Florence. Norman was a member of the Ontario Genealogical Society, a founding member of the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa, and authored several genealogical books and publications. Friends may visit at the Pinecrest Visitation Centre, 2500 Baseline Road on Monday, October 26, 2009 from 7 to 9 p.m. Service in the Chapel on Tuesday, at 11 a.m. Reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to the charity of your choice would be appreciated. Condolences can be made online at www.colefuneralservices.com.

(Published in the Ottawa Citizen on 10/24/2009.) Norman was a member of the St. Lawrence Branch.

[submitted by Lynne Cook.]

Response re Words to "A Canadian School Song"

In my capacity as Archives Committee for the Hamilton Branch, I have a copy of the Canadian School Song (copyright 1913 The Hamilton Travel Club) the words by Dr. M. J. Keane and the Music was by G. Sidwell.

I can take the sheet music to a copier if you would like a copy.

...Frederick H. Hayward UE, President, UELAC